My Darling Guardian Angel
by Ayamegusa
Summary: Kagome, having recently graduated, finds herself employed as a guardian angel to one named Kouga Ookami. Too bad she finds herself up against the powerful demon named Inuyasha, who happens to be looking after the same person. Alternate Universe.
1. Chapter 1

The characters of Inuyasha (manga and anime) belong to Takahashi Rumiko

My Darling Guardian Angel

Chapter One

* * *

Kagome had every reason to smile. She had just graduated from the Angel Academy, a prestigious university that nurtured and educated the souls who wished to become angels, and not mere citizens of Heaven. In addition, Kagome had graduated with honours, which now allowed her the privilege to become a guardian angel.

It was hard work, with many hours of study and practical lessons, but today was the day where it was all going to pay off.

The beating of her heart raced with anticipation as she watched the man in front of her going over her credentials, though to be fair, it didn't seem that he was actually looking at them but more at her with his charming smile.

Kagome smiled back.

The young woman always had a positive outlook on life, even when her life ended in the most tragic way. She quickly realised that death lasted only for a few seconds; it was the pain that lasted longer. Yet, as she remembered watching her physical body being mourned over by her family, Kagome decided then and there that she was going to continue on with her education, so that one day she may visit her mother, brother, and grandfather, and to tell them that she was doing fine.

"So, Miss Kagome," the man asked. "It looks like you had led a very good life. That sort of thing is rare in young people these days. They always want to explore their boundaries, drinking smoking, sex all the time, that sort of thing. You never thought about doing these things? You don't happen to be hiding anything? I mean everyone has a dark side."

She sat there in shock, staring at him with wide, disbelieving eyes. Everyone had told her about what the types of questions she was going to expect during the interview, but she wasn't exactly expecting this. Whatever happened to questions about what she wanted to bring to the agency, and what skills she had previous?

"I should hope not, sir," she began. "Or else I wouldn't be here, and I wouldn't have been able to graduate."

"Please, Miss Kagome, there's no need to call me 'sir'. It makes me sound old."

"Yes, sir... I mean..." she stole a quick glance at his name plate on the desk. "Mister Houshi."

The man smiled as he handed her a manila folder that contained her first assignment, though he wished the young, attractive woman would have called him by his first name. It wouldn't have made a difference anyway, as he saw how her eyes had lit up at the contents of the file, the face of eagerness of one who was about to start her first job. Sighing, Miroku decided that it was probably best to leave the friendliness out until much later, and proceeded to tell Kagome about the details of the job she was about to undertake.

"As you know, your job as a guardian angel is to protect, and guide the client during their life span, until they die, natural or otherwise. Seeing that you are new to this kind of work, I have assigned you a relatively easy person. His name is Kouga Ookami, a misguided teenager, with little to no sense of direction in his life. He was orphaned at a young age, and had a tough life growing up, etcetera, and etcetera. It's all in the file, Miss Kagome; you can read it later on. If you have any troubles, just call me. And if you don't have any troubles, call me anyway, and we can talk over a coffee."

She took her leave when she heard the man mention talking and coffee, thinking that he was only being pleasant, and with a polite bow, Kagome headed off down to Earth to meet her first assignment.

* * *

Meanwhile, down in the depths of hell, in a plush secretarial office, sat a demon with long white hair, swinging lazily around in the leather chair, with a bored expression on his face. He had just come back from witnessing the death and subsequent funeral of his now former client. It was old news to him now, and had been for a long time. Being a five hundred year old demon, he had been through many a damned poor soul, getting to know them, granting their darkest desires, watching them become hungry for more, and then watching them die, knowing that they had sold their soul for wanting their selfish wants. All in all, it was a pretty enjoyable job, but sometimes...

"You're back already, Inuyasha?" a female voice asked, making him forget his current thought. "How was the funeral?"

"You should have come along, Sango. Everything was in it, the constant crying, the sad eulogies of how he was a gentle soul who helped other people, and an upstanding citizen who was best friends with the rich and influential. It was hilarious, especially when the priest started his speech."

"So I gather you had a good time." Sango replied, ushering him out of her chair.

"Not really, it wasn't much different from any other 'important funeral'," he said, shrugging his shoulders. "But that doesn't matter now as I'm off to go on my holiday."

Sango's smile faltered when she heard the word holiday, and the discussion she just had with their boss suddenly came into her mind. The look on his face confirmed this as he stared at her with eyes that flashed like fire, and so before he could say anything, she handed him the case folder, along with his holiday application with the word 'Rejected' stamped in red.

"Rejected?!" he shouted, throwing the folder onto the marble floor. "How can it be rejected? I handed this in from the beginning of the year. I was planning to go to the beach. To enjoy the sun, the sand, the double servings of chocolate and vanilla ice-cream, and all those girls that are going to take their tops off for sun bathing, but especially the ice-cream."

"I'm sorry, Inuyasha. But you know the rules: Clients before holidays." With an apologetic smile, she handed him the folder, but nothing she could say could ease his disgust.

"'Clients before holidays'," he ranted on, "Bullshit. Fifty years before that, he'd said he had lost my application. Can't you say something to him, Sango, please? I can't take this anymore."

"I'm sorry, I can't. You do remember that you are on permanent contract. There's nothing I can do." Trying to reach out to console the demon, she had to quickly step back when he disappeared into a cloud of smoke, no doubt to reluctantly see his next client. Then Sango's face turned into a frown, as walked over to the boss's door, knocking loudly until he opened it.

"Well, I hope you're happy now," she said, glaring at him.

"Yes, I am," he replied, with cool ease, much like a snake.

"He was planning his holiday from the beginning of the year."

"What did you expect, Miss Sango? This is Hell, and my domain," and with the same cool ease, the man silently shut the door, leaving the woman to fume behind it.

* * *

Inuyasha sat on the small balcony where his client lived, reading through the details of his profile. There was nothing out of the ordinary from what he could gather: an ordinary boy in high school, who liked nothing more than to fist fight his way through an argument, a rogue with no parents to control him, not that any adult could either, a typical hormone-driven teenager.

"Sounds like a real charmer." Inuyasha added, observing the teen's photograph. He sure looked like a ruffian, with his long, dark hair tied up, and the way he chose to dress. Shaking his head, Inuyasha yawned, stretching his large, bat-like wings. He lazily looked at the sky, and sighed, wondering if he would ever see the blue skies of the beach. Damn it all, and his permanent contract. Being a demon was a plush job, but having a plush job in the underworld still meant one would be punished, in one way or the other. His punishment meant that he had no say on how and when he wanted to work, and that meant no holidays, not unless he had approval from the boss. _Fat chance he'll give me that, fucking bastard._

Mulling over his misfortune, Inuyasha didn't realise that someone was there until he looked up, though his surprise didn't last long, when he saw it was only a girl in a long green dress, floating up in the air, with her gaze lost in the large city map she was holding, a sign that she was lost.

"Do you need some help, miss?" he asked.

The head of the girl popped up from where she was looking, staring at him with youthful blue-grey eyes, but before he could say anything, she hid her face again, mumbling an apology while floating away until she disappeared down the street.

"How rude," Inuyasha scoffed, turning his attention once again to his watch, and then to the door, as if wishing for the damn boy to hurry back home.

* * *

Kagome breathed out in relief when she reached the end of the street, and out of the demon's view. It was lucky that he hadn't decided to follow her. All her studies in university and stories from her friends, told her that demons were not good news. They were the complete opposite, in person and in moral ideals. While angels upheld what was righteousness and good, the demons were wicked, dishonest, who had nothing better to do than to torment people just because they enjoyed it. And the one she just saw looked like a real trouble-maker, a dangerous one too, after seeing how large his wings were, compared to her little beginner ones. He was obviously one of a much higher rank. It was a good thing she had flown away before he could try to bait her with his tricks. The last thing she wanted was to get in the way of a demon, not while she was still inexperienced in dealing with such people.

Still, the woman surmised, she could have asked him for directions. Exactly where was Mr. Ookami's apartment? With all the buildings looking so similar, it was difficult to tell which one was which. Rolling her eyes in exasperation, Kagome had no choice but to consult her map again.

_This is the right street, so where's the place?_ Glancing up from her map, she spotted a young man humming a tune as he walked down the street. Immediately, Kagome recognised him from the photo, and couldn't thank the gods enough for allowing her to have this chance. She grinned, not hesitating one moment to follow him home.

Things were looking up for her first day on the job.

* * *

To be continued...


	2. Chapter 2

The characters of Inuyasha (manga and anime) belong to Takahashi Rumiko

* * *

My Darling Guardian Angel

Chapter Two

* * *

Kagome's gaze watched the boy as he dragged himself home from school. He was definitely the boy named Kouga Ookami, looking more bored than anything, quite different from the angry look he conveyed on his photograph. Not that she was actually looking; she was on duty after all, and her duties required her to observe the people and their surroundings.

Floating behind the young man, she followed him into an old apartment block, and then up ten flights of stairs. It was a laborious task, and it seemed the stairs went on forever with the slow pace Kouga was taking, each step at a time instead of taking it in leaps and bounds like any other, energy-infused teenager.

"Will you please hurry it up, Mr. Kouga?" Kagome breathed out.

Kouga's body quickly swivelled around, thinking he had felt something on his neck. He swore as he peered over the side of the railing, swearing again when he did not find the person who dared to walk so closely behind him. Finally, when he knew for sure that he was not being followed; he merely shrugged his shoulders, turning around to climb up the stairs to his home.

Or what didn't look like a home when the door was opened in front of Kagome's eyes. It was more of a one, large room sort of arrangement, with a futon in one corner, a table in the middle, and an old cupboard in the other corner. _You poor boy..._ Luckily she was here to make his life better, and so without further hesitation, she took out a bag of biscuits, freshly made, and placed it on top the table, along with a contract of service.

"Hello," a male voice said from out of nowhere, causing her to jump in surprise. To her horror, it was the same demon she had tried to avoid earlier. What was he doing here?

"I could ask you the same thing," he replied, taking out a bottle of champagne from his jacket, along with a contract that was similar to hers – except for the bat wings and the gothic script in the letterhead. "I suppose you're here to introduce yourself to the new client."

"Well... yes," her eyes then narrowed in suspicion. "What are you doing here? I hope you're not one of those demons who steal clients just to fill some quota."

"Certainly not," he scoffed smoothly, "just like you, I have been assigned to the... boy. I am simply waiting for him to agree and sign the contract."

Kagome's mouth fell open, speechless. There had to be some kind of mistake. He couldn't possibly have gotten the same client as she had. It was made clear in the job description papers she had gotten from her employer: angels and demons, under no circumstances, were allowed to work together. She had no idea what that meant – probably it had something to do with a conflict in interest – but since this was her first assignment, Kagome wasn't about to break the rules just for one arrogant looking demon. And what an arrogant looking demon he was, with his strange, pale coloured hair, wicked yellow eyes, and... Were those ears... on top of his head?

"What are you staring at, girl?" The demon said, his brows furrowing in mild irritation.

"Why are you really here?" Kagome asked.

He smiled, flexing his clawed hand. "I told you already. You're not going to be any trouble, are you? Look, I'm having a rough day, so I don't need little girls with training wings interfering with my work ethic."

"Training wings?" Kagome exclaimed, her temper rising. "How dare you talk to me in that manner? And don't say things like that. You were new once."

It was then, before the demon could say anything of a witty comment, that they both heard a gasp from the boy as he stared disbelievingly at the gifts placed so innocently, and yet so menacingly on the table. Kouga eyed them with suspicion, wondering how the hell they managed to turn up without his knowledge. He then tried to poke at it, jumping back a bit to make sure the bag of biscuits wasn't going to transform into something hellish or at least something he would not be expecting. It was not a common occurrence for things to just appear for no apparent reason, but he had known and listened to many a tall tale from the old lady, a floor below him, to start believing that perhaps one of her stories would be true.

However, when the bag and bottle refused to change, Kouga visibly sighed in relief, slumping down next to the small table to examine the 'gifts'. Then, eyeing the two sheets of paper in front of him, he felt a sudden chill run down his neck and spine. They were both addressed to him, though as he read through both letters, nothing made any sense. In general, they were both worded the same, except for the font. It read:

'_Dear Sir,_

_ We are pleased to inform you that you have been chosen to participate in our very special mentoring programme, 'Heaven's Reach' _(or Devil's Hand if one were to read the demon's contract)_. This programme is designed for people like you, yes you, who may feel that they are at one of the many crossroads of life, and would benefit greatly from one of our friendly advisors. Our aim is to guide you throughout your life, so that you may experience a more fulfilling and rewarding lifestyle._

_To help you with your programme, we have assigned a specially trained guardian angel to be your companion. Please find attached an introduction letter from the angel we have specifically chosen for you. All of our guardian angels have been educated up to tertiary standards, and are accredited to practice under the Act of Angel Guardianship_

_If you choose to accept this service, please sign the enclosed contract and hand it in to your angel as soon as possible._

_Kind regards,_

_Miroku Houshi_

_Heaven's Reach, Coordinator.'_

Kouga's eyes blinked several times, reading the letter once again, and then repeating the same process with the other letter. Raising his eyes to look at the plain walls of his room, he frowned. _What bullshit is this? _He mused to himself. There was no way in the world that angels or demons existed. That sort of thing only happened in fictitious stories, and equally fictitious movies. Even the title, Heaven's Reach, Devil's Hand and Guardian angels, sounded a bit too much like one of those letters proposing that he had won a share of some large amount of money, and that the only way he could claim it was to surrender his bank details. So like any other normal person, who was faced with such nonsense, did what any other normal person would do, by tearing up both contracts until they were nothing more than a pile of bits of paper, and then throwing the pieces out of the window without another thought. He then focussed his attention on the gifts laid out on the table, and with a snort, he crumbled the biscuits, and chucked them and poured the champagne out the window as well.

Kagome could only stare in horror, as all of her papers and her home-made biscuits were being treated so brutally by this boy. Her first day on the job, and her future prospects were ruined.

"Oh, it's not that bad, miss." The demon said, his face not showing any signs of distress. He even smiled, which only served to make the young angel panic more.

"You are new at this, aren't you?" he spoke again, smirking as he saw the girl fly up and straight to the boy, demanding to know why he was being so disrespectful to the letter, and her home-made biscuits.

"Who said that?" Kouga exclaimed, spinning around the room when he heard the female voice. He wasn't sure if it was the same voice he had heard when he was in the stairwell not too long ago, but it was similar enough to make him clench his fists in readiness.

"I can't believe you!" he heard her say. "I went through all this work, baking those biscuits all morning, and you just throw them out?"

"Of course I threw them out!" Kouga shouted back in the air. "I don't like biscuits, and besides, they... smelt funny. Wher-where are you, anyway?"

"I'm over here, you nincompoop!" Kagome replied, now standing right in front of him. "Look at me while I'm speaking to you."

"I can't see you. You come over _here_ so _I _can see you!"

Suddenly, there was a loud rap at the door, and then an equally loud voice, "Kouga-san, what's going on in there? Are you all right? I heard voices in there."

"No, I'm not. I'm hearing voices, but I don't know where they 're coming from!"

A click could be heard from the other side of the door, and in burst a plump elderly woman, dressed in a miko styled kimono and hakama, and brandishing a broom. She waved the broom about, narrowly missing Kouga's face by inches. Sharp, piercing eyes darted about, as her nose crinkled to smell the aura around them, and then with a flick of her wrist, flung an ofuda to one corner of the room.

"Kaede-ba-baa, what the hell do you think you're doing?" the young boy yelled out.

"There are evil spirits in this room. You haven't been cursed by anyone; have you, Kouga-san? Or done some bad deed at school?" She eyed him with a glare, which made the poor boy even more confused. "Something is in here." Slowly, she drew out another ofuda, taking small steps like a ninja, until she was in front of Kouga. They both stared at each other for the longest time– Kaede in determination and Kouga in disbelief – before the old woman made a shout, slamming the piece of magical paper onto his shoulder.

By now, the young man's temper was at the point of near boiling, and was about to berate his landlady for bursting in and proceeding to flaunt her so called miko powers to his room, when they both heard a shout of pain coming from behind him. They both looked to where the shout had come from, but all they saw was the corner of Kouga's room. Or at least, that was what he saw; Kaede on the other hand, seemed to know who the intruder was, with the way her nostrils flared in excited anticipation.

"Where are they?" Kouga asked.

"Over here." A male voice said from behind him.

"Why can't they see us?" said a female voice.

"It's because he hasn't sign the contract yet." The male voice said again. "Didn't you know that?"

"C-contract...? What contract?" Kouga asked.

"Kouga-san, don't you dare sign anything, especially from the devil."

However, it was too late, as an invisible force grabbed onto the boy's wrists, where a fountain pen magically appeared between his fingers. Kouga struggled with the force as best as he could, but with nothing to grab onto to, and not knowing what exactly he was supposed to be attacking, while trying to avoid the direct assaults from Kaede's broom, there was very little he could do. And what he could do was somehow being prevented by another force latching onto his legs and trying to pull him away from his arms.

This was certainly not one of his days.

Back and forth he went for what seemed like hours of aggressive tugging and pulling, and the occasional book thrown in his general direction, until finally, the tight grip slackened around his hands, causing him to crash into the wall. Groaning, he tried to stand, while ignoring the way the room seemed to spin around him. Now helpless as he was, the boy failed to notice how the pen in his hand began to sign in a squiggly scrawl by itself, Kouga's full name on the dotted line of the demon's contract.

"Oh, Kami-sama," the old woman breathed out, realising what had just happened, after seeing the name burn and sizzle into the paper, with the word 'congratulations' appearing at the bottom of the page.

"Congratulations, indeed, Mr. Kouga," and with puff of smoke quickly filling up in the small room, appeared the demon in question, dressed in an elegant dark suit, batlike wings and a wicked grin.

"How do you do, good sir," he said in a suave voice. "Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Inuyasha, at your service."

Kagome gasped in shock. She could not believe it, her client had just been stolen, and there was nothing she could do about it.


	3. Chapter 3

The characters of Inuyasha (manga and anime) belong to Takahashi Rumiko

My Darling Guardian Angel – 3

* * *

Kouga stood there, staring wide-eyed at the demon that suddenly appeared before them. It was a being he had never seen before, or at least he had never seen someone wearing such an elaborate costume before.

"You must be some extreme cosplayer," he said, still trying to work out if what he was looking at was real or not.

"I'm as real as you are, kid. And after you have been so kind to sign my contract of service, I'm pleased to inform you that it will be a pleasure working for you."

"What?" Kouga didn't remember anything about signing a contract, certainly not from one who dressed in such a way. But the smile on the demon's face told him otherwise, and perhaps that was the reason why he was beginning to get a headache. What did it all mean this contract of service? He certainly wouldn't have signed anything if he didn't know what he was getting himself into. After all, Kouga wasn't that stupid. He would have torn up the contract straight away, just like the other two sheets of paper he saw, and yet, he had the dreadful feeling that it was already too late.

And what a dreadful feeling it was, as the boy slumped to the ground, his heart feeling like it had suddenly turned to lead.

"Oh, come, come, now," the demon remarked, patting his head in an odd, friendly sort of way. "It's not that bad. I must admit that I wasn't expecting such a... client such as yourself, but I'm sure we can become very good friends, soon enough." However, his good humour disappeared somewhat when the old woman, Kaede, began to wave an ofuda in front of his face, threatening to stick it on him, and acting as if he shouldn't be the one throwing the word 'friend' into every sentence. Underhanded tactics, she called it, accusing him of forcing Kouga to sign something without permission. Ha! He was a demon; underhanded tactics were expected from someone like him.

Kaede waved the piece of paper menacingly, charging it with an unknown magic, before throwing it directly at Inuyasha. Unfortunately for her, the silver haired demon was too quick, dodging out of the way, while ducking behind Kagome to use her as a shield, where the paper hit her harmlessly, yet squarely in the face.

"What happened?" Kouga asked, standing up to see why the paper had stopped short of the demon's face.

"There's another one of them in here. Can't you see her, that young woman over there?"

"Her?" This piqued the boy's interest. Now, let it be known, that Kouga was a indeed a boy of the high-school age, and like many a boy his age, his mind was more acutely aware of anything to do with the female species, only more so. So when he heard the old woman mention there was a woman in their presence, his mind automatically began to picture what this 'young woman' would look like.

Inuyasha's eyes lit up like fire as he watched Kouga's expression change, saying, "Ah yes, the young woman, quite the looker, isn't she? Luscious black hair, a killer body, alluring eyes, and legs that go on forever... Very sexy, indeed..."

"R-really?" the boy asked, his eyes glazing over. This woman was sounding more and more beautiful than he could possibly imagine.

"Oh yes, you'd like to see her too, wouldn't you?" Inuyasha's breath blew lightly on Kagome's neck, and then in puffs of laughter, causing her whole body to tremble, in anger.

Never before had she encountered such a vulgar being, especially when he clearly was trying to take advantage of Kouga once again, either that, or the boy was extremely gullible to suggestion. The worst of it, which really made her blood boil despite her being an angel of pure and innocent teachings, was the fact he had the gall to make the lewd comment towards her.

That was something she did not like at all.

"Will you stop that, you demon!" she cried out, smacking his head and any other part of him that got in her way, until he could do nothing but block himself from her incessant attacks. "You come in here, trespassing, steal my client by evil means, and then laugh about it at my expense. You're a cruel person. Don't you realise that you've ruined my career, my whole life! What am I supposed to do now with no job?" Then quite suddenly, she burst into tears, though her anger didn't subside even when the demon tried to console the young angel.

"Stop being so hysterical, it's not the end of the world, certainly not your career. Just think of this as an important lesson in life. It's called: 'First in, first serve.'

"How dare you," Kagome seethed, making a grab for both of his canine ears, and pulling at them in every direction just so she could hear him scream out in bloody murder. Right now she didn't care if it got her into trouble with her employer; all she cared for right now was sweet justice.

So wrapped up in her fighting struggle against the demon, she didn't notice the old woman rushing towards them, throwing purification salts their way. The salts crackled and fizzed with power as it hit both of them, forcing Kagome and Inuyasha to let go.

"What the hell was that?" Inuyasha spat, the salts still finding their way to his mouth and everywhere else, stinging his senses like hot coals.

"It's to stop you demons from fighting." Kaede replied.

"I'm not a demon," Kagome said, trying to remove the irritating salts from her eyes. "I'm an angel, a guardian angel. I was sent from the Heavens to protect Kouga from people like him."

_Guardian angel...? _Kouga blinked at the thought. He was going mad, he was sure of it. The winged man in front of him and the female voice he kept hearing was surely part of his already over-stressed brain. Yes, that had to be it, it had to be stress. Obviously he was overworked from all his studies, and home life, and social life, and...

Ah! He couldn't take it anymore, and so the best thing he could do in situation like this was to faint. So that's what Kouga did, right onto the floor.

"Oh," Kagome said, surprised that Kouga had reacted in such a way to her announcement. "I-I'm not doing so well with these introductions, am I? I thought he'd be happy that I was going to be his guardian angel. Not that I can, anyway. It's your fault, you stole him from me."

"I didn't steal him from anybody. I was just doing my job." Inuyasha replied, preparing himself in case the crazy girl tried to make for his ears again.

"Excuse me," Kaede decided it was time to move in between them, asking both of them what exactly they had meant by 'guardian angels', and more specifically, 'contracts'.

They in turn, looked at each other and then to her, with a question of their own.

"You can see us?" They both asked.

"Of course, I am a miko, after all. Miko are trained to be able to sense beings of the spiritual world."

"Miko, huh? Inuyasha mused. "You look more like you're halfway to your grave."

"Don't make me purify you, you devil." The old woman warned, and then turned her attentions onto the other less intimidating looking demon.

"Angel." Kagome corrected. "You can tell by the wings." For some reason, she could tell that the woman didn't quite believe her, and so she went into a lengthy discussion on what a guardian angel was, and what her job entailed, that and trying to sound as if she wanted the old woman on her side, in case the demon tried to do anything funny.

After the third cup of hot tea, Kaede finally began to understand. From what she had gathered, Kagome was here to look after Kouga, a moral conscience personified into this girl. "And how about you, young man, why are you here? I hope you're not here to steal his soul."

"Certainly not, I'm not in the habit of stealing anything. I just know how to influence people the right way. But that's beside the point. My job is similar to hers, except I was sent from Hell to be Kouga's advisor." At this Inuyasha snorted with suppressed laughter, earning livid looks from Kagome.

"What I don't understand, is how Kouga is able to see the demon here, and not you, Miss Kagome."

"Well, he needs to agree to sign the contract first, before I can be his guardian angel. Without it, I don't have the job. Not that I could anyway. Angels and demons aren't allowed to have the same client. It says so in the rule book."

Inuyasha rolled his eyes at this, but refrained from saying anything. It wasn't always wise to argue with a person who was angry and who wouldn't listen to reason.

"I have to call my superior." Kagome continued, searching through her bag for her mobile phone. "Surely there has to be a way out of this. I can't have this on my résumé. What would my mother think when she finds out I couldn't even start my new job. And you," she then directed her attentions towards the demon in question. "You had better start finding a lawyer. I'm not letting you steal my client without a fight."

"A lawyer?" he exclaimed, slamming his fist onto the table, causing everyone to jump up in fright, except for Kouga, who was still remained out cold. Inuyasha glared at them, his nostrils flaring in fury. She had some nerve, thinking she could call the higher authorities for some trivial matter, that and his ears were still smarting. Fine, if some training angel wanted to play that way, then there was only one person he could call.

"Hello, Sango? ...Yes, darling, it's me..." Inuyasha smiled as he talked on the phone, a smile that Kagome noticed, a smile that unsettled her. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea, thought Kagome... _No, I have to be strong._ "Look, I'm having some trouble... No, no, nothing I can't handle, but she's being difficult... You know how it is, with these modern types of angels... think they know everything, and when they don't, they threaten legal action..."

A half an hour later, Sango arrived in a big puff of smoke, looking as cold and professional in a sharp tailored suit, killer heels, and a pair of striking glasses which added to that look of a no-nonsense lawyer.

"So, this is the trouble maker," she said, eyeing Kagome from above her glasses, a look which clearly said: 'I'm going to crush your so called high hopes. When I'm done with you, you wouldn't be able to get another client for the next hundred years.' Sitting down comfortably next to Inuyasha, she also noticed the man seated beside Kagome. Sango suppressed the urge to gasp. It was none other than Miroku Houshi, the terror of woman kind. How he managed to end up in Heaven was anyone's guess, and for him to have that kind of notoriety, even in Hell, Sango knew that he was a dangerous man indeed. Luckily for her, he didn't know her phone number.

"Oh..." he began, realising that he was in the presence of a very attractive woman. Nothing like he had ever seen in his life.

"My card," she finished, coolly, handing him a business card.

"No phone number?"

"No."

Another half an hour later, Sango and Miroku left, leaving Kagome speechless by the outcome and Inuyasha with a smug expression on his face.

"I told you there was nothing you could do about it. I was here first. Mr. Kouga signed my contract first, and these contracts are permanent. I'm sorry, but that is just how things are."

"I see..." Tears pricked at her eyes, though she turned her head away quickly so that the demon would not see them. This was so embarrassing, outdone by a demon no less, it wasn't fair. Who knew Hell was absolutely strict with their laws, and never left anything for compromise? Failure was something she was not used to, but she supposed it had to happen someday, she just didn't think it would happen on her first day of employment.

Then, looking at Kouga still lying unconscious on the floor, Kagome decided then it was best to leave, after all, he wasn't her client, and no client meant no job.

"I-I'll just go and say my goodbyes, if that's all right with you." Not hearing a response from the man, only a noise and a wave of agreement, she went over to Kouga's side to bid him farewell. With one last sad smile, Kagome prepared to leave, but to her surprise, her would-be client decided to wake up.

He blinked at her for a few times, rubbing his eyes as if he was trying to make sense of something, and then he spoke, quite aloud.

"My gods, what are you? Are you my guardian angel? You're so beautiful..."

"Huh?" So shocked by Kouga's declaration, the young angel almost fell over if not for his hands holding gratefully to hers. She didn't understand it, how was it possible for him to see her now?

Inuyasha just looked at them, not saying anything.

* * *

I apologise for my writing if it feels rusty...


	4. Chapter 4

The characters of Inuyasha (manga and anime) belong to Takahashi Rumiko

My Darling Guardian Angel – 4

* * *

Two weeks later, and Kagome could still not believe her luck. After that incident with the demon, things were going better than she had expected. What with her new job still intact, and with her client being so helpful and kind, there really was nothing the young woman could complain about. It was strange how Kouga was able to see her without having signed the contract beforehand, however that seemed only a minor detail when Kouga more than happily signed his name on the precious document.

So why was there this nagging feeling of guilt every time she looked out the window, the image of the white-haired demon flying out in a hurry, and had hardly been seen since then? The answer was simple of course – besides from his look of suppressed fury – she had stolen his client, the very thing she herself had been so disgusted about. By Kouga's signing of her contract, she realised much later on, that because of it, the demon's contract was now void. Kagome felt terrible, despite Kouga saying that it was fine, with that boyish smile of his. But to her, it wasn't; now she only hoped that he would come back so that she would apologise, and perhaps offer him some sort of friendship, that was if he still wanted to hang around.

Sighing, she shifted herself into a more comfortable position on the cushion next to the window, and watched her client discreetly as he tackled his homework, while her mind idled elsewhere, pondering what she could do to make Kouga's room a little bit more welcoming.

* * *

Meanwhile, Inuyasha kept himself hidden in a dark alley, waiting for his contact to arrive. It had already been two weeks and he was getting impatient, though he had to admit, the contact promised he would get everything done, and in a timely manner as well – which meant he would exploit every legal loophole to their advantage. Not that it really bothered him, Inuyasha was all for exploiting anything to his advantage, it was how he had always worked.

"Mr. Inuyasha?" a voice spoke, appearing out of the darkest corner of the alley. He smiled at him, handing him a sheet of paper, a contract containing both signatures from the young guardian angel and the boy.

"It was a lot of hard work, keeping everything hidden from my superiors," he said, "but, it has been worth it, I think."

Inuyasha scanned through the contract, scrutinising the signatures before he grinned, "Good, very good, and... the rest of it?"

"It's all done, and done quite legally too, if no one decides to make any plans to ruin two weeks, day and night worth of my work. Although I am curious as to why someone like you, wanted something like this? I do know demons don't generally work well with others, especially not with angels."

"Well, what can I say?" Inuyasha replied with ease, while handing him a card with a telephone number on it. "I'm a nice guy."

Miroku's eyes brightened with happiness as he grabbed the card with great enthusiasm. Here in his hand, was something he had been eagerly waiting for: Sango's phone number. All the long hours of the past two weeks had been worth it for this small, yet precious card. He sighed, holding the beautiful demon's phone number to his chest. Oh, joyous day. To think, he thought he would never see or hear from the lovely Sango ever again, and just like that, this demon decided to give him her number. It took a lot of persuading on his part though; however it had been surprisingly easier than he had surmised.

All in all, Miroku was one happy man, who couldn't wait to go home.

"It was a pleasure doing business with you, my good sir."

"Yes, indeed," replied Inuyasha, as he watched the man disappear into the darkness. What a strange person, this Miroku character was, with a look of an angel, and yet with questionable moral standards, at least when concerning the female population it seemed. How he ended up in heaven was anyone's guess. It figured Heaven always had bizarre rules for entry into its golden gilded gates, even more so its entry requirements for guardian angels.

In the end though, Inuyasha just sighed at the thought. _I bet they have an easier time applying for a holiday..._

* * *

It was around dinnertime when Kaede returned to Kouga's room, carrying two take-away bowls of ramen, more than happy to see that the demon had not returned. She didn't care much for trouble makers, and Kouga didn't need any demons from Hell to influence him to become some bored delinquent, who cared for nothing but causing trouble for everyone else. No, no that would not do. Luckily for them, the guardian angel, Kagome, was a godsend. Pleasant, friendly, and kind-hearted, she was what the boy needed in such stressful times of a teenager life.

"Here you are, my dear," Kaede said, placing the steaming bowl in front of the angel, "just a little something to celebrate this special occasion."

"Oh..." Kagome looked at the bowl with an expression that could only be described as dismay. She then looked back at them with nervous smile, saying, "T-that's very kind of you, but... unfortunately angels can't eat human food. You see, I'm dead already, a spirit, so the food would just go right through me. But it does look very nice."

The boy's eyes saddened in pity, he never would have thought angels as beautiful as Kagome could never eat human food after they had died. It seemed too unfair. Opening his mouth to offer some comfort, Kouga jumped when he saw Kaede suddenly flinch, staring hard at the door with an ofuda in her hand.

"Kaede-ba-baa, what's going on?"

"Shh..." she hissed, slowly tiptoeing her way to the door, as she signalled Kouga to open it.

It was obvious the old woman was overreacting again; however he did what he was told, making his way to open the door when he heard someone knocking from behind it. Somehow, he could feel his heart beating faster, although he didn't know why. Perhaps it was the old miko's agitation that was making him nervous. He cleared his throat, opening the door to find a fresh bouquet of colourful flowers and a bottle of French-looking champagne presented before him.

"You again!" Kouga exclaimed, "Why are you here?"

"Why to look after you, my dear boy. You didn't think the old hag could keep me out with those useless strips of paper she keeps sticking around the window sill. Ah, and the little angel is still here as well. How sweet, these are for you." Inuyasha then handed Kagome the bouquet of flowers, making sure to avoid any direct attack from the miko. "And the old hag is looking lively, I see, radiantly angry as ever. I would have brought you flowers as well, but I only had the one, never thinking that this place would be crowded with children and old biddies."

"How dare you come back here again, demon," was Kaede's reply. "I should purify you on the spot for trespassing."

Inuyasha jumped back before Kaede had the chance to touch him, hopping behind Kouga to block her advances, and continued to jump around the room, with the boy in tow, bounding and leaping to avoid the ofuda and purification salts, all the while taunting her and laughing. This went on until Kagome had quite enough, yelling at the top of her voice for them to stop such childish behaviour. To see adults act in such a way, especially Kaede no less, it was just too embarrassing.

"You really do have some nerve," Kagome said, forgetting all the compassion she once had for him only two weeks ago. She knew demons were trouble, but who knew by his very entrance, that he was capable of creating such anarchy within a few seconds. By all rights, he had no right to be here. He didn't have a contract with Kouga, which she made the mistake by saying that out loud. Quickly, she covered her mouth in case she decided to say anything else damning, the feeling of dread made worse when the demon did not say anything in retaliation, only smiled, pointed to her contract in question, and then burned it with a touch of his clawed finger.

"Let's pretend I forgot you ever said that. Besides, I'm in a very good mood, as you can see by this contract here. Look at that, boys and girls. Such a wonderful sight brings a tear to my eye."

Inuyasha held it up for all to see, and it was truly there, a contract stating that Kagome and Inuyasha were now officially guardians of Kouga Ookami.

Kagome fell silent, blinking again and again at her own signature written neatly on the dotted line. The sight left her speechless, even as Kaede grabbed the contract out of the demon's hand to inspect the details, in probably some vain attempt to find some kind of error or discrepancy within its text. Nor did she notice the slightly smug look on his face when the old woman could not find a way to dissuade the demon from taking any part in looking after the boy.

"So..., I guess that's it then," the old woman conceded, her gaze falling onto the bowl of ramen, left uneaten and forgotten, by everyone. All except for Inuyasha, who suddenly realised it was there, with its enticing smell, and cheerful arrangement of wavy noodles, thinly sliced meat and spring onions. His mouth watered at the sight, the aroma drawing him closer until his nose touched the steam, and he quietly asked if what he was seeing was the real thing.

"Yes, it is," Kagome answered. "C-can you eat it?"

Inuyasha simply shook his head, but before he could contemplate the cruelties of not allowing demons to eat food obviously made from the kami itself, he was unexpectedly slapped in the forehead by one of Kaede's ofuda.

"Ha! I have you now, demon! Now with that ofuda on your head, you can't move. That should teach you a lesson for trying to harm a helpless boy like Kouga."

"I'm not helpless, Kaede-ba-baa. I've looked after myself for all these years."

"Then why are they here?" Kaede asked, pointing to both the angel and the paralysed demon. "If you were really looking after yourself, then they wouldn't be here in the first place."

"Hey!" Kouga began, "okay, maybe I do need a little help, but that's why Kagome is here. She'll look after me, won't you?" He looked at her with brilliant, emotional blue eyes, a look which made the young woman unable to answer because of absolute embarrassment. Even so, the angel nodded, awkwardly, which only seemed to please the boy even more.

This exchange earned a few muffled snickers from the demon, causing Kagome's face to become quite red, and Kaede's glare to darken, and if it weren't for Kagome quick intervention, the old woman would surely have tried to, in her own words, 'fry him like fish'.

* * *

Afterwards, when everyone eventually calmed down and turned in for the night, and with Kaede promising to return tomorrow to make sure the demon was still in one place, Inuyasha was indeed left all alone in the middle of the room, with an ofuda still stuck on his forehead. The situation was made worse when he tried to blow on the piece of paper out of boredom, only to have it land back on his nose and causing it to start itching. _Damn it all... _As if his back wasn't feeling painful enough with all the hours spent bent over the accursed bowl of ramen.

Groaning at his plight, he felt something hover over his face, something shaped like a small hand, where its fingers landed on the ofuda, and by the time he realised what was happening, Inuyasha saw that Kagome had removed the offending piece of paper.

"You?" he asked, surprised. "Where did you pop up from?"

"I... just wanted to make sure Mr. Kouga and Ms. Kaede were asleep. You really worked her up, you know. I can't say that it was partially your fault. It's not nice to excite elderly people like that."

"My dear, of course it wasn't nice. I have built my career on not being nice. Besides," he then eyed himself in a small mirror to straighten out his jacket and tie, "Elderly people should have some excitement in their lives. A few heart attacks now and then, always does the power of good."

Kagome just looked at him with disbelief, unable to comprehend why any sort of person would say such a thing. The nerve of this demon to actually suggest that it was a good thing for a person, almost made her feel that it would be the right thing to do to put the ofuda back on his head and call the higher authorities to remove him.

And yet she didn't. Truthfully, the real reason why she had left Kouga's room for a short while was to read over the new contract he had recently presented. It was well made, looking exactly like the real thing, even her signature looked authentic. How he managed to accomplish such a thing was beyond what she was willing to dare. So why did he do it? Perhaps what he said about making a career of not being nice was a lie, and in fact was a nice guy, wanting to share the responsibilities of guardianship for the greater good.

"Don't be silly," Inuyasha replied. "I only did that because... well, let's just say I've been in this business for a very long time, and met many a stubborn person who wouldn't sign their contracts, so one has to be creative and find their way around such difficulties. And this is no different. In the end, I always get what I want, and there is no way a little girl like you, is going to stop me."

Kagome was wrong; he was beyond doubt, a horrible person.

"What is your name, miss?" he asked, startling the young angel from her thoughts about the demon and his bad sense of ethics.

"What?"

"Your name," he asked again. "I didn't catch it the first time."

"Oh," Kagome's cheeks reddened in embarrassment, "uh..., it's Kagome. Higurashi Kagome." It was lucky for her, that it was dark, and the small fact that he wasn't actually looking her way. In any case, she decided it was best to change the subject. "Anyway, I just wanted to say how thankful I am that you have done this for me. I didn't want you to go through so much trouble for my sake, and yours of course. You see, it really is my first time in this kind of work, so I... I didn't mean to steal your client. I was just so happy when he'd agreed to sign the contract, I didn't realise—"

"Kagome," he said, raising a hand to stop her. "Please, don't babble. It was nothing. To benefit oneself, is to bring joy to my heart, figuratively speaking, of course."

"It still doesn't explain why you had my name signed on it as well, sir."

"It was merely on a whim, my dear."

"Right," for some odd reason, Kagome didn't really believe him. Either that or she was just overanalysing motives for hidden agendas. Demons were always tricky that way, from what she read during her studies. "Well, thank you, anyway, Mr. Inu...yasha... Is that really your name, it's so unusual," and yet, she found herself smiling. It was a nice name, and in some ways, it suited him.

"What are you smiling at?" Inuyasha asked.

"Oh, nothing, nothing at all," Kagome replied.


	5. Chapter 5

The characters of Inuyasha (manga and anime) belong to Takahashi Rumiko

My Darling Guardian Angel – 5

* * *

It was a new day, and it was also Kagome and Inuyasha's first day working as a team looking after their charge, Kouga Ookami, who still lay sleeping under his warm futon, unaware that it was a school day, and the small fact that he was going to be late if he did not wake up soon.

The young angel was the first to awaken with a horrified gasp. After many years of school, she was used to an early schedule, so when she realised that it was a little passed eight o' clock in the morning, it took another few seconds to realise that it was not she who was going to be late for school.

"Oh my goodness!" she exclaimed. "Mr Kouga, wake up, wake up, you're going to be late for school!" When she saw the boy only move and mumble, and yet refuse to open his eyes, Kagome turned her attentions towards the demon, her calls becoming more frantic when Inuyasha also refused to awaken.

"I'm not going to school. Leave me alone," he groaned, hugging the pillow tighter to his chest.

This only caused Kagome's frustrations to increase, as she tried to take his pillow away while at the same time, pleading for him to wake up so that he could help her wake up the other sleeping male.

In another five minutes, Inuyasha eventually opened his eyes, though his brain was still hazy in sleep, thus his mood was not all the best.

"What the hell are you playing at, girl?" he protested, trying to take back his pillow back when the angel took it away from him. "What does it matter to me if the boy can't get a little extra sleep?"

But it did matter to her. Kagome was set in her ways to make a good first impression on her first job, and this demon was not going to remove her chances of getting ahead in her hopefully successful and long course of her career. Even if she had to take drastic measures, nothing and no one, was going to prevent this angel from taking this boy to school.

"Come on, please?" She continued to implore him until her incessant whining got to the demon, and he sat up bolt upright, with an absolute livid expression on his face just waiting to explode. Now fully awake, he simply stared at the girl, his nostrils flaring in and out to show that he was trying to keep in his temper, but not enough, apparently.

"I should have known you would be one of _those_ people."

"One what?" she asked, confused.

"Exactly," Sighing deeply, he stood up, and then closed his eyes, much to the puzzlement of the young angel.

Blinking, Kagome was about to ask just what the demon was planning to do, when suddenly she saw his form become transparent as he made his way towards the unsuspecting boy who remained in deep sleep. She gasped when Inuyasha seemed to disappear into a flash of light, which left her wondering what had happened, a thought that only lasted for a brief moment when Kouga decided to jump up and give her a wicked smile.

"Hello, Miss Kagome. Did you really miss me that much?"

It was the sort of tone any woman would be afraid of; in fact anyone for that matter, and Kagome was no different. She was certain Inuyasha had something to do with it, though it was too late for her to do anything, as she saw Kouga quite happily, and quite literally, skipped out of the door while singing some sort of merry tune. Such a sight compelled her to follow him, watching in horror as he jumped a whole flight of stairs before proceeding to do the same for the next nine flights, until he burst out the door and welcomed the whole world with his terrible singing voice. Or at least to the people in the street, who all jumped away in fright when they watched this boy bouncing down the street towards his school.

Whispered talk and turned heads did not go unnoticed by the young angel, and even though Kagome knew that no one could see her, it didn't stop her trying to hide her face from the now curious audience. _What is Mr Kouga doing…? _

It didn't take long for them to reach the school entrance, and to her surprise the open gate indicated that they were still on time, but not for long.

"You again, Ookami-kun?" the teacher on gate duty shouted at him, preparing to slam the gate. "If you are going to keep on coming late to school, then you shouldn't be here at all."

"Says you, old man!" and then he leapt with one bound, over the gate, over the teacher's balding head, to land right in front of the school's front door. The offending boy then blew a raspberry at the loser before running gleefully in, much to the dumbfounded looks on both the teacher and the guardian angel who just managed to see Kouga make the most unbelievable jump she had ever seen. Almost as if he was possessed by a demon…

_Inuyasha…_ Immediately Kagome decided to fly after him, she didn't even need to imagine what he was capable of; he had already proven himself quite capable.

"What are you doing?" she asked desperately, grabbing onto his pyjama top. He looked at her with his blue eyes, and Kagome could clearly see that he was indeed possessed.

"What do you think?" he replied, swinging the door wide open to meet the unified looks of shock from Kouga's fellow students, and unfortunately – or fortunately – for him, his teacher, Ms Takahashi.

"It's good to see that you managed to come to school, Ookami-kun, and so nicely dressed as well," she said drearily, ignoring the swaggering way he walked towards her, and the giggling girls who could barely contain themselves, as they looked on with interest.

"Well, there is only one reason why I turned up." Lifting her chin with his hand, he grinned with a seductive twinkle in his eyes, saying, "It was because of you."

And that was when his teacher slapped him right across the face.

* * *

"You cruel, heartless, inconsiderate, person," Kagome told the laughing demon. They were now standing outside of the classroom, with Kouga holding three buckets of water, two in his hands, and one balancing precariously on his head, as punishment for harassment. Of course Kouga was none too happy about his predicament, though he could not say anything; much less do anything as each movement was one step closer to disastrous consequences. So he stood there, frozen, disbelief and a shattered ego plainly written on his face.

"Don't you feel sorry for him?" asked Kagome, wondering if the red hand print on Inuyasha's face actually meant anything to him.

"It was worth it, my dear." He replied, and then burst out in laughter once again. "You should have seen her reaction, Mr Kouga. Your teacher won't be forgetting that in a long time."

The angel fumed, and begun poking her finger against Inuyasha's chest, attempting to emphasise how angry she was at him right now. They were both assigned to the same client, so couldn't they at least have some kind of agreement of what would be best for him? After all, surely he wasn't going to behave in this manner for the rest of Kouga's natural life?

Inuyasha snorted, defiant, "Who says, angel girl? Besides, you were the one who started it," and off he went down the hallway, leaving the remaining pair alone to contemplate on things.

"My life is ruined," said Kouga. "Now the teacher and everyone else at school are going to look at me in a different way. I bet by tomorrow everyone would know about it."

"Oh, I don't think it will be that bad."

"Kagome, no one in the history of this school has ever arrived wearing nothing but pyjamas, maybe in other schools, but definitely not in this one."

"Well, uh… I suppose there is a first time for everything," she laughed nervously, trying to make light of the situation.

The boy sighed, the bucket of water on his head preventing him from doing anything too hasty. He then looked around, noticing that he was now alone with the pretty, young angel from above. Smiling, he turned to face her, hoping he would get his chance to get to know her better without the constant interruptions from the demon.

These few weeks, he had to admit, had been hectic. Previously, he had felt comfortable being alone – with only the occasional visit from his old landlady – never having to worry about people bothering him, nor did he have to deal with other people's problems. But now he had two… spirits suddenly thrust into his life to contend with, constantly bickering with each other of who would take sole responsibility of looking after 'their client'. Not that it was all that bad. Kagome was the prettiest girl he had ever seen, especially with her blue-grey eyes, and her smile, and the fact she was so nice to him when other girls would probably pass him by without another thought. He knew from the day he opened his eyes and saw her, he couldn't help himself: he was smitten.

"So," he began, inching closer to get near her. "What is this business of you being my guardian angel?"

"Well, uh, basically, I'm here, and Mr Inuyasha, are here to… look after you."

"Really?" he liked the sound of that, Kagome looking after him, that is. "So that'd be your job? Looking after me? I'd like that." Kouga blushed, holding onto the angel's hands in earnest.

"Well, not exactly looking after you, that's more of a parent's job. I'm more of an advisor, like it says so in our contract."

"That's right, my dear boy," added Inuyasha, who had just caught the end bit of the conversation. "There's nothing in the contract to say anything about asking impressionable young ladies for a drink."

"I—I was not!" although Kouga's face said otherwise. "You're trying to put words into my mouth."

"Stop trying to provoke him, Mr Inuyasha, please? I think the poor boy has had enough of your antics. Is this how you've treated all of your clients? I don't see how you've managed to last this long without getting fired or even had disciplinary action against you."

"Miss Kagome, you seem to think that I'm in the same league as you." Inuyasha said with a laugh. "I knew there would be trouble with this kind of relationship. But I have to live with my stupid mistake, and take back Mr Kouga as _my _client." He then latched onto the boy's arm, much to Kagome's annoyance.

"Oh no you don't, you demon from hell. Unlike you, I've been nothing but nice, and kind, to my client, so I should be the one more deserving." She too grabbed onto his other arm, and Kouga realised then that something bad was going to happen to him.

He was right.

Just like little children fighting over a prized toy, pulling this way and that until someone was the victor and the other on the floor in tears, Kouga no doubt felt the same way. Except that he was the unlucky toy with both the angel and demon being the children, pulling him this way and that, the water from the buckets flying everywhere and on him. Yet he felt lucky that they were only spirits and not real people; it would have been terrible if Kagome had slipped and hurt herself with all the water about. He would have blamed Inuyasha anyway; it always seemed that he would be the one to start the trouble, not that he could do anything about it at the present moment, as said demon had a tight lock around his legs while Kagome was struggling to keep her side up.

Still, he wished they would stop. People were looking, and unbeknownst to him, everyone else could not see the battle that was going on like he could. All they could see was Kouga floating in the air, with his limbs flailing like a madman, awkwardly and dangerously close to the open window.

"Help me, somebody!" Kouga shouted, eying fearfully the outside of the window. "Get these two idiots off me. I don't want to die!"

"Look, he's going to jump out of the window!" said one.

"My god, how horrible," said the other.

"What's going on?" Kagome asked, realising that they had somehow drawn a crowd. "This is your doing, isn't it, Mr Inuyasha?"

"How dare you!" he spat back, choosing then to let go of his stronghold, the abrupt force causing Kagome and Kouga to topple over and out the window.

For a brief second, Kouga became numb of his surroundings. He was going to die, and not even his lovely guardian angel could save him. And the last thing he saw before he blacked out was a dark figure with golden eyes and enormous bat-like wings, swooping down towards him.

* * *

Kagome had shut her eyes tightly so she couldn't see what was going on. She couldn't help it, she was going to lose her client, and there wasn't much she could do about it, what with his weight and her short wings doing nothing but flapping instead of trying to fly. She would have thought all was lost, if not for her landing having ended up with a cushioned thump. Slowly she opened her eyes to the sounds of groaning, and finding that Kouga was safe, if somewhat unconscious. It was a miracle.

"Get the hell off me," grunted Inuyasha.

"You… you saved him."

"You seemed surprised. You do know that I'm here to look after him too."

The young angel found herself smiling at him. Did this mean he was willing to share the same client? Perhaps he did have a little good within him.

"Don't touch me," he said, glaring at the delicate hand that was about to touch his shoulder.

Kagome frowned, retracting her hand back as if he had burnt it. Perhaps she was wrong.

* * *

I know, my writing is terrible...


	6. Chapter 6

The characters of Inuyasha (manga and anime) belong to Takahashi Rumiko

My Darling Guardian Angel – 6

* * *

The clock struck at exactly six o'clock in the morning, enough time for Kouga to awaken, stretch out his arms, yawn, and still have enough energy to sneak out the door of his single room without waking his two other occupants. He tip-toed across the hallway, but jumped when his landlady, Kaede, opened the door to her apartment.

"Good morning, Kouga. You're up early. That Inuyasha demon still giving you trouble? I'm very good at exorcising demons. He wouldn't know what hit him."

"Please, Kaede, not today. I just want to have a normal day today."

"But you would if only you would let me stick a few ofuda in your room."

"Bye, Kaede," he shouted in reply, grabbing a few pieces of toast from his landlady before dashing down the stairs. As far as he was concerned, he wasn't in the mood to have the demon awaken just so that said demon could cause another day of chaos. He had already experienced enough mayhem to last him for a very long time.

With one final step, he made it to the school grounds, and sighed in relief; so far so good. Gingerly, he sat in his seat while darting his eyes about the empty classroom, in case Inuyasha decided to pop out from out of the blue.

_Mmn… _Perhaps today was going to turn out alright.

A sound caused Kouga to instantly jump out from his seat, and his whole body began to shake uncontrollably.

"What the hell was that?!" He heard footsteps coming closer towards him, but then let out a breath he hadn't known he was holding when he saw one of the teachers walking pass the classroom and down to the other side of the corridor. A few seconds later, the boy finally allowed himself to smile, feeling rather stupid for being so jumpy. There was no way Inuyasha could have followed him. Last time he checked, the demon was fast asleep and snoring on top of his cupboard.

There he sat in his chair, unmoving, until he could hear the school come to life with the sounds of teenagers shouting and running about, and the teachers shouting at them to slow down and shut up. And soon the classroom began to fill up with his fellow students, barely noticing that Kouga had been sitting in the same spot for almost two hours, his eyes on constant alert with a slight hint of agitation with the knowledge that he probably should have had a more substantial breakfast.

The classroom then suddenly fell silent when their teacher walked in, followed by an unfamiliar face.

"Good morning class, I hope you have been studying hard for today's exam."

Kouga stiffened at this news. Since when she decided to have an exam?!

"Nothing special, I just want to test if you have been listening to my lecture yesterday.

_Oh shit…_

"But first, we have a new student. This is Hamasaki Ayame. Please make her feel welcome."

The new student bowed her head, and said something on the lines of, 'Please to meet you', before proceeding to take the seat next to Kouga.

Though, the boy took no notice, as his mind was fixated on the surprise exam he obviously had no time to study for, not that it would be any excuse for his teacher. Exams were a common occurrence in their school system, to determine if the students had been paying attention, however he suspected that their teacher especially, enjoyed watching them suffer in stifled silence as they wrangled their brains for an answer to a certain equation. It was only a small mercy that she was not their gym teacher.

For ten long minutes he stared blankly at the test paper, trying to see if any of the equations and algebra questions made sense to him. Yet his stomach growled in protest, demanding that he should pay more attention to his hunger, the grumbling noise causing a few snorts from a few of the students before their teacher snapped them back to attention.

Cold sweat trickled down Kouga's brow, his hand unable to put pen to paper. How the hell was he going to attempt even one question? That, and the fact he was still hungry.

"Mr. Kouga!"

The boy managed to swallow his gasp, surprised when he saw two familiar faces looking back at him.

"What are you guys doing here? Can't you see I'm trying to do my exam?"

The angel and demon looked at the test paper and then at him.

"Don't say anything," he grumbled.

"Oh come now, Mr Kouga. Don't be like that. Exams are tedious, yes. But I'm very good with mathematical whatchamacallits and Pythagoras whatsits. I can have your test done in five minutes."

It was at this point that Kouga seemed to realise that his teacher was standing in front of him, like an imposing skyscraper, and just having witnessed the delinquent student arguing to thin air.

"Any why should I not say something, Ookami-kun?" the teacher questioned him, her mood already having soured. Her mouth twitched at the prospect of grinning at him when she saw his colour change, but she was a professional, and not some commonplace bully off the street to have such thoughts. "Surely, you would have studied at least something, instead of talking to yourself… during your exam."

"But, he wasn't talking to himself," a small voice answered.

The teacher lifted her head, startled, and then glared at the student who dared to speak out, astonished to see the person who had spoken was the new pupil, Hamasaki Ayame, looking up at her with a rather timid expression.

"I… I mean, he was talking to me."

"I… see…," she replied slowly. "Well, I guess the both of you will have to stay back after school. Ookami-kun, you will do the exam during this time, now outside the both of you."

* * *

Kagome glowered at Inuyasha, upset at what had transpired. Why did he insist on causing trouble? If he was going to act this way for the rest of Kouga's natural life… the young angel dreaded at the thought.

"Hey, this is not my fault. I was going to offer my help on the exam. I do feel pity for people, you know," and he muffled a laugh, "sometimes."

"It is too, your fault. Mr Kouga can't be in trouble with his teacher every day. Just think of the reputation he'll create by _your _machinations."

Inuyasha burst out laughing. "He'll have a great reputation!"

"It's not funny," the angel huffed, pulling on his canine ears for good measure until he shouted out in mercy.

While they were having their argument, one of many, Kouga simply sighed and rolled his eyes at frustration, wondering where those two got the energy from.

And he thought he was going to have a quiet and peaceful day today.

"I'm sorry," the girl spoke, and it was for the first time Kouga noticed the new girl standing next to him, nervously fiddling with one of her long pig-tailed red hair. "I mean… I thought that you didn't want to be embarrassed when you started talking to yourself."

"Not you too, look," he tried to say, "I wasn't talking to myself."

"No, I was talking to my two invisible friends," said Inuyasha, whispering cheekily into his ear.

"Yeah that's right, two invisible friends."

The girl's eyes widened at this, as Kouga realised what he had said, and he immediately shut his mouth to prevent himself from saying anything else. His eyes narrowed in annoyance at the demon, having a fleeting moment of reconsidering Kaede's offer of her using her ofuda powers to restrain the monster.

"Thanks a lot," he hissed. "Now she thinks I'm a mental case." Grinning sheepishly at the red headed girl, he scratched at his forehead. "Don't mind them, they're just… friends of mine."

The girl simply smiled, though her eyes betrayed her actual thoughts, as she chose to stay as quiet as possible, in case the strange boy decided to 'talk' to his invisible friends again, or worse, find herself joining in in one of the conversations.

* * *

Kouga grumbled at his test paper, and then grumbled some more. He really didn't have any idea what the numbers and equations meant. It was clear he was going to fail the exam.

"I told you that I'd help you."

"I don't need your help. I just need to figure out what these numbers mean."

"It would be easier if you just let me do it."

"Shh… Mr Kouga is trying to concentrate. He can't do anything if you keep looming and jibing over him."

"I am most certainly not, Miss Kagome." Inuyasha interjected. "I, at least, am encouraging him, unlike some little-winged beginner angel. Look at how pathetic he is. You don't even give him some of the answers for his exam."

"Why should I give the answers to his exam? He won't learn anything that way."

Kouga groaned louder in dismay, his rapidly dwindling concentration not being helped by the angel and demon arguing behind him. For all honesty, did they ever stop talking? With his frustration finally overwhelming him, the boy decided to throw the papers up into the air, exclaiming, "I can't do this anymore, Takahashi-san. I really tried. But I just can't seem to get my head to focus."

The teacher looked at him for the longest time he had ever experienced of anyone looking at him – in the most displeased expression he had ever seen – causing his face to begin to sweat in dreaded anticipation.

Though his fear was short-lived when the teacher merely blinked and sighed. "At least you are ready to admit it. I suggest you study harder tonight for your repeat exam tomorrow after school."

* * *

"That was lucky," Kagome smiled, patting him lightly on his shoulder. "Now you have another night to study. And you had better not give him any other ideas. This is still your fault, you know, Mr Inuyasha. You are always trying to ruin everything."

"Oh please, don't try to put this on me. I was just trying to do my job. But, if you insist on being so difficult, I'll be on my way to buy some ice cream." The demon then spread his wings and flew off into the setting sun, quickly disappearing behind the buildings.

Finally, it was about time for some peace and quiet. Perhaps now Kagome and her client could get into the business of studying for his exam tomorrow. She knew herself of the importance of studying and exams. After all, that was how she lived her life when she was going through school and university: studying and hard work. And no amount of interruptions from a certain demon was going to even tempt him with the idea of ice cream.

"But…" Kouga tried to say, his feet attempting to walk in the direction the demon had gone.

"No," was her firm reply, dragging the wayward boy by the collar back to his apartment.

* * *

Inuyasha strolled down along the quiet street, half-admiring the way the style of houses remained somewhat the same the last time he had his previous client from a hundred years ago. He had lived in an area such as this, until Inuyasha introduced him to the life of organised crime, where he climbed to the top within a few years due to his natural business sense. Of course his last client had turned out into a multi-millionaire and would have lived nowhere near this area for the rest of his life, and yet he somehow liked walking along this particular street, as this was the street where the Shinto shrine lay. For some reason or other, this place, this area reminded him of something familiar.

A memory from the past, his past…

Shaking his head, his thoughts were interrupted by the phone ringing in his jacket pocket. He eyed the number, and he grinned.

"Uh… Hello Sango?" a familiar voice said, his tone of voice so nervous with obvious excitement, that it made the demon almost feel sorry for Miroku.

… For about three seconds.

"Who's this?" Inuyasha replied in perfect imitation of Sango's voice.

"You might not remember me, but I was the angel you saw the other day."

"From the night club…?"

"Uh… no…"

"The Geisha house…?"

"Uh…" The demon could tell Miroku's confidence was starting to waver ever so slightly. "No… I don't suppose the name Miroku would mean anything to you?" he asked hopefully.

"That would depend on what you have to offer me."

At that point, he heard the phone beep continuously, a sign that the call had become disconnected.

Stretching out his arms in a satisfying manner, he grinned once again from ear to ear.

"I feel better already."


End file.
